With Paws Like These
by Kinola
Summary: A dog-ified version of "Finding Nemo." When his only son is taken by dogcatchers, a timid Siberian husky named Marlin must set out to find him...with the help of a Border collie with short-term memory loss, of course.


**Here we are; the first dog-ified "Finding Nemo" parody on fan fiction!**

**Just to let some know, there will be a few modifications of some scenes and such, as this is somewhat AU.**

**Oh yeah, I noticed something: what the (bleep) happened to the curly quotes I had on my other stories?**

* * *

The Great Barrier Valley was the Shangri-La of the North American wilderness. At two thousand kilometers across and fifteen hundred kilometers wide, it was one of the largest valleys on the continent, and speckled beautifully with all kinds of flora and fauna.

One of the best things about the valley was that mankind did not know of this place. Apart from bears, caribou, and moose, most of the valley's residents were either of the canine and lupine family. For them, it was a safe haven, with miles of forests and meadows to run about in and ponds and lakes to drink at. The dogs that came here had either been neglected, abused, or merely ran away for various reasons.

The Siberian husky that we're focusing on now was a runaway. Born out of the best lead dogs in Canada, he and his siblings were most likely to have followed in their parents' footsteps, but with him, it would never be a reality. Just a year ago, he had met and fallen in love with a she-wolf, something that would make everyone outraged with him. So the two lovebirds stole away into the night, instantly deciding to start a new life and make their home within Great Barrier Valley.

"Wow."

"Mm-hmm."

"…Wow."

"Mm-hmm…"

"Wow…"

"Yes, Marlin, I see it," said the brown timber wolf standing beside him. "It's _beautiful_."

"So, Coral, when you asked for a valley view, you didn't think you were gonna get the _whole_ valley, did ya? Huh?" Marlin inhaled the air. "Oh, yeah...a dog can _breathe_ out here! Did your mate deliver, or did he deliver?"

"My mate delivered," Coral replied.

"And do you know why?"

"Because a lot of other couples had their eyes on this place." The den they had was just at the northern end of the valley, surrounded by lush grass and pretty white poppies. A perfect view to the rest of the valley in front of them.

Marlin nodded his head. "You'd better believe it; every single one."

Coral nuzzled her mate. "You did great, hon…and the neighborhood is awesome." Both the she-wolf and the Siberian husky looked down to the other canines who made their dens nearby. Two mutts of undetermined breed were giving each other Eskimo kisses. A black Labrador puppy peeked into some tall grass and scared his friends out. Off in the distance, a dog who had some Afghan in it was taking a stroll with her six chubby pups. A Pug was burying a bone, and his son put the last clump of earth upon the place it was buried. The Pug patted his head for a job well done.

Marlin looked over at Coral and noticed that she was starting to look a little worried.

"So you _do_ like it, don't you?" he inquired.

"Oh, no, no, no, I really do like it!" Coral assured him. Then, her worries started up again. "But Marlin, I know that this is one of the most beautiful places in the valley, but do we really need so much space?"

Marlin chuckled. "Honey, these are our pups we're talking about! Look; they're gonna wake up one morning, poke their little heads out and they see an eagle! Right outside their own home!"

Coral smiled. "Shh…honey, you'll wake the pups." The two went towards their den and looked inside. Just two weeks ago, Coral and Marlin became proud parents when the former delivered a litter of four pups. Of the four, only one was red in color, like Marlin. The rest were brown.

"Aw, look," Coral said softly, smiling. "They're dreaming." She looked over at her husky mate. "We still have to name them, you know."

Marlin stammered. "Y-You wanna n-n-name them all, now?" He thought about it for a few seconds before declaring, "We'll name the boys Marlin Jr. and the girls Coral Jr. 'Kay? We're done." In truth, this dog was not so great with names.

"I like Nemo," Coral said simply.

Marlin raised an eyebrow. "Nemo? Well…we'll name one of the males Nemo, but I'd like the other to be Marlin Jr."

Coral grinned from ear to ear as she turned to face her mate. "Just think, in a couple of days, they're going to open their eyes and see their parents! It's going to be exciting!" she whispered.

"Yeah," Marlin agreed, smiling. But then, his smile faded. "What if they don't like me, though?"

"Oh, Marlin…"

"No, really."

"Come on, dear. We've had four pups. I'm sure one of them is bound to like you." Coral joined her pups in the den. "Now, I think it's time for you to go find dinner for your family."

"Ah, yes. Of course." Marlin bade farewell to his wife and went off.

* * *

Marlin was not the world's best hunter. He had learned only a few hunting skills from Coral herself, and with these, he could only catch small prey, like squirrels and ptarmigans. But with his wolf mate, the biggest prey they could hunt was a young deer.

Keeping his nose close to the ground, the husky trotted out of the Great Barrier Valley and followed the edge of the nearby forest. He was almost about ready to go off towards the meadow when he finally caught the scent of blood. But this wasn't the blood of a dog. It was of a large rabbit.

The husky found the dead animal just a few feet away from where he picked up the smell. One of its hind legs was torn open, there were puncture wounds on both sides of its neck, and a patch of hair was missing from its back.

Checking to make sure there was no one in sight, Marlin snatched up the rabbit and trotted back towards the valley and to his mate.

But there _was_ something watching him, something with sharp fangs and a merciless soul...

* * *

Marlin returned to the den to find his mate waiting for him. She had just finished up feeding her little pups. He handed her the dead rabbit and she took it from him.

Once she was done eating the rabbit, Coral was aware that Marlin was watching her. She looked at him. "What?"

"You remember how we met?" he asked, smiling.

Coral smiled as well. "I try not too..."

"Oh, well _I_ try too." Marlin started to chase her playfully, reciting the words from that day. "Excuse me, miss, can you please see if I have a piece of barbed wire in my mouth?"

"Ah, Marlin!" Coral giggled as she darted away from him. Their playful antics were pulling them away from the den and towards the valley's edge.

Coral sprinted ahead of her husky mate. He ran after her, and within seconds, he reached the valley's edge. "Here he is, cutie's here!" he exclaimed, puffing out his chest.

The she-wolf was standing only a few feet ahead of Marlin, her eyes focused on something. Marlin's smile slowly faded as he looked over his shoulder and saw the adult Pug from earlier diving into a bush.

"...Where's everyone gone to?" Marlin wondered as he looked back towards Coral. She was standing perfectly still, her back to him. He did not realize what she was staring at until he looked up.

And then he saw the mountain lion.

"Oh, no," he murmured. It quickly dawned upon him that the rabbit he stole must have been killed by the mountain lion, and now the wild feline was seeking out the thief.

"Coral, get back into the den." Marlin kept his voice low enough so that the she-wolf could hear him. "We'll all be safe if you get back into the den right now. Now come, you, right now."

What she did next would impact his life as well as the lives of their offspring.

Coral rushed at the mountain lion, her ears pinned back and her teeth bared. The mountain lion roared and sprang at her. Marlin cried out and rushed to his mate's side, hoping to try and drive the feline away without the use of violence. That was a mistake. Coral leaped upon the lion's back just as Marlin stopped right in front of the spot where his mate would've run into him. He heard another roar and felt pain sear through his right shoulder, sending him tumbling down the slope. A third roar was emitted, and then all went dark.

* * *

Marlin stirred and opened his eyes. His shoulder throbbed in agony and he felt dizzy. He groaned, shook his head, and waited for the dizziness to pass. He wondered how he came into this situation, but upon gazing at his torn right shoulder, it all came to him.

"Coral!" he shouted. It was dark now; a crescent moon hung in the star-speckled sky. All was silent.

The husky looked up towards the slope. There was no sign of the mountain lion or Coral, and he was fretting. Where were they? Did they survive? Was Coral okay?

"Coral?" The husky crept upward, hoping that his mate was okay, and that life would go on as if nothing had happened. "Coral...?"

He reached the edge of the valley and looked around. The grass in front of him was tinted with some sort of strange liquid, and just two feet ahead of him was a sapling with three diagonal slices damaging the bark...

And that was where he saw Coral.

Patches of red were smeared upon her sides, her chest, and halfway down her neck. Her left hind leg appeared to be dislocated, and both ears were torn to little pieces.

"C-Coral?" Marlin murmured, stepping close to her. She did not appear to be breathing. With his forepaw, the husky gently tapped the brown she-wolf's shoulder. She did not move. He tried again, and again. He swallowed, realizing that she was stone cold.

Coral was dead.

Marlin flattened his ears against his head and whined. If Coral's soul had departed, then what happened to their pups? Fearing the worst, the husky dashed over to the den as fast as he could and peered inside.

Nothing.

"Oh, no," he murmured. The mountain lion must've taken their lives while he was knocked out. Those poor little pups...

Whimpering, Marlin backed out of the den. This was all his fault. If he hadn't taken that rabbit, then none of this would've happened. He sat down on the ground in front of the den, threw back his head, and howled out his sorrows.

Once he was done, he thought about what he should do next. It was impossible to return to the place where he was born; he doubt anyone could remember him. But he didn't want to stay here anymore...so what?

He sighed, stood up, and was about to walk away when he heard a small sound. At first, he thought it was a bird calling from far away, but then he realized that the sound was that of a puppy whimpering.

Could it be?

Marlin turned around and...yes, there it was.

Lying just a few feet to the right of the den was one of his and Coral's four pups, the red one to be precise. The pup looked to be okay at first, but as Marlin drew closer to him, he could see that the pup's right hind leg was torn off.

A miracle child.

His and Coral's miracle child.

"There, there, little guy," Marlin whispered as he lay down besides the pup. "It'll be okay. Daddy's here, Daddy's got you." He enveloped the little red pup in his forearms and added, "I promise I'll never let anything happen to you...Nemo."

* * *

**There! Done! **

**Okay, here's the list of who's going to be who in this dog-ified parody:**

**Marlin: Siberian husky**

**Nemo: Siberian husky/Timber wolf cross**

**Coral: Timber wolf**

**Dory: Border collie**

**Bruce: Mountain lion**

**Anchor: ?**

**Chum: Fox**

**Gill: Alaskan Malamute/Arctic Wolf crossbreed**

**Deb/Flo: Border Collie**

**Peach: Golden Retriever**

**Bloat: Great Dane**

**Gurgle: Greyhound**

**Bubbles: Yellow Labrador**

**Jacques: ?**

**Anglerfish: ?**

**Moonfish: ?**

**Jellyfish: Probably a power plant or something...I dunno...**

**Crush and Squirt: Newfounlands**

**Whale: ?**

**Sheldon and his father: Golden retrievers**

**Pearl and her father: Poodles (LOL)**

**Tad and his father: ?**

**So anyone that has a question mark by them obviously doesn't have a alternate form. Must see some suggestions, people!**


End file.
